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what about the pitch of tinitus? most of us can say it is high or low or even the exact sound. Where does the discerning of pitch originate?
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also , i have spoken to many including you (and myself) who say that tinnitus can sometimes hiss. Other times it is a pure tone just like a sine wave. Does the fact that the sounds we hear are more often the same suggest that there is some definite mechanism at work as opposed to just random noise?
why dont we hear square waves instead? sine waves tend to be very common.
Last edited by kenji (03-12-2007 15:17:29)
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Well, both the intensity and the pitch are obviously discerned by the central nervous system (i.e. the brain). This is why any imbalances or changes in the nervous system can lead to shifts in the perception. And different changes are then likely to be related to a different tinnitus noise. Who knows, may be one day one can tell from certain characteristics of the tinnitus what kind of changes have taken place in the nervous system (and correspondingly one could then apply counter measures).
Both sine and square waves are merely idealized models of waves, of which a sine wave is surely more accurate for ordinary sound waves (if you would hear square waves, it would probably not appear to be much different anyway provided the frequency is the same).
Thomas
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Tinnitus perception is said to be located somewhere in the brain not necessarily the auditory cortex?
why does it interfere with our ability to hear though?
if its loud then it can stop us hearing quiter external sounds..
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another question:
tinnitus is not that random in the sense that for me, I experience the same sounds/pitch day and night. The only real variability is the loudness (or perhaps a new sound).
Most people have the same experience of hearing the same sounds for decades. So how come it doesnt change?
you said '' Well, both the intensity and the pitch are obviously discerned by the central nervous system (i.e. the brain). This is why any imbalances or changes in the nervous system can lead to shifts in the perception. ''
Over decades, their bodies/brain will change yet tinnitus remains constant. If it is nervous condition wouldnt it be far more variable?
''And different changes are then likely to be related to a different tinnitus noise'' but that isnt the case for me and from what ive read is not the case in general.The only changes are in loudness?
doesnt this mean the brain is likely to be playing a far greater role in the perception and generation of noise?
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you said ''Both sine and square waves are merely idealized models of waves, of which a sine wave is surely more accurate for ordinary sound waves (if you would hear square waves, it would probably not appear to be much different anyway provided the frequency is the same).''
It is idealised but in many cases, the tinnitus can be described as a 'pure tone' and even the frequency can be established. It is the same sound of a sine wave signal being reproduced as a sound wave and then heard.
But why is this?
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The tinnitus noise will obviously interfere with the perception of external noises. That's why hearing tests usually show a 'reduced hearing' at the corresponding frequency. If the tinnitus subsides, this should go back to normal again.
Changes in loudness should only indicate the degree of nervous activity. What happens when the pitch changes is everybody's guess, but the principle of cause and effect tells you that obviously something different has changed here as well.
I would just see that I keep the intensity of the tinnitus at the lowest possible level as far as possible. This is really all you can do.
In most cases the tinnitus is not a pure sine wave (which would be at a very precise frequency only). A pure sinusoidal tone (that some websites give as 'examples' of tinnitus) sounds quite different at least to anything my tinnitus has ever sounded.
Thomas
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